Japan’s U-Next Renews HBO Content Deal With Warner Bros Discovery

Japanese streamer U-Next has renewed its content deal with Warner Bros Discovery, under which it will continue to be the SVOD streaming home of HBO programming in Japan.

The deal covers exclusive SVOD content rights for HBO, HBO Original and HBO Max Original new and returning series, as well as more than 2,300 episodes of library content.

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HBO series covered by the deal include House Of The Dragon, The Last Of Us and Succession; along with returning HBO Original and HBO Max Original series such as True Detective: Night Country, Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty and And Just Like That…; and upcoming series The Idol, White House Plumbers, and Love & Death.

Also included in the deal is the exclusive Japanese premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Full Circle.

U-Next CEO, Tenshin Tsutsumi, said: “The collaboration with Warner Bros Discovery, which began in April 2021, has produced great results as a strategic partnership.

“We have been able to deliver high-quality titles from HBO and HBO Max, the pinnacle of U.S. entertainment, to audiences as quickly as possible, and we feel that the number of opportunities for people to engage with our service through these titles has also increased.”

Warner Bros Discovery has so far not rolled out its HBO Max platform in Asia, but is understood to be considering options for the region. Last week, the company announced a renewal of its HBO content deal with Australian pay-TV operator and streamer Foxtel.

U-Next recently announced that it is merging with Premium Platform Japan, owner of the Paravi streaming platform. The combined platform would have around 3.7 million subscribers. Japanese broadcasters TBS and TV Tokyo are major shareholders in Premium Platform Japan.

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